


Rain of Minnesota

by RainOfTrinixa24



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-03-20 00:16:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3629562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainOfTrinixa24/pseuds/RainOfTrinixa24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would you do if after you met an Autobot your life just seemed to totally spiral out of control. Not only that but you and your friends soon find out that you're actually Autobots thought to have died millions of years ago!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Hey there! This is my first Transformers fan fiction! Hope you enjoy!

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers in any way, only my OCs

 _TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT_ – scene change

 **Name:** change of the pov

 _‘Italics’_ telepathy, _“italics”_ talking on a phone/note reading, _italics_ thoughts

Well that’s it. On with the story.  
………………..

I’m not sure where exactly to begin with this story. But then again . . . I did not even know where I was until I asked a doctor in the hospital I woke up in all those years ago. You see . . . I only remember getting slammed with some kind of energy beam, speaking with my new friends and then blacking out. Only to wake up in the hospital a full month later!

The doctor even told me he wasn’t sure I was going to make it. He nearly jumped out of his skin when I did after he put, or tried to put, a needle through my nose.

Though I suppose with any good story, it is best to start at the beginning. Finally I believe I have the strength and the heart to write this with my own hand. Telling all who read this of the events from both my own and my friends’ points of view as each took place.

I still remember that first meeting like it just occurred yesterday. Even though it started long before that when I was young, and did not truly remember who I was.  
It begins on a dark, rainy night, just as I was returning home from a family reunion in Indiana . . .

_TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT_

The switch clicked as I turned the wind-shield wipers onto the second setting, just as the downpour I was driving through chose to come down even harder. Streams of water created a sheet-like effect, reflecting my headlights and almost causing the road to disappear from my eyesight from time to time. But then the month of May is when my home city of Duluth, Minnesota starts receiving a ton of rain from Lake Superior. The wind wasn’t really helping either as I struggled to keep my little blue Ford on the road.

The highway I was on was filled with twists and turns. It would not be a straight path for a few more miles yet. I wanted to drive faster to quell the nagging want to finally get home. My mind’s idea of my very own, warm home with my own bed was severely tempting. I had been cooped up down in Indy at that family reunion for the past two weeks, having to share a room with one of my two annoying sisters. Surprisingly I’m the blonde of the family and I’m the smart one with two college degrees, go figure.

My foot started to press the pedal to the floor. But my ever reasoning mind overruled the action and returned the pedal back as my grandfather’s lecture on rain echoed through my head. Ever recounting all things which happened to people when they tried to drive fast on a road in this kind of weather. Better to always take it slow.

The notebooks and laptop I had in the passenger seat shifted a little while my car navigated another curve. The noise of the rain pounded a beat which competed with the bass of the Evanescence song blasting from the speakers of the CD player. I turned right one final time and looked through the gloom of the pouring rain. My eyes just barely making out the lights of Duluth in the distance.

Cranes which stand above the bay, where workers loaded and unloaded cargo from ships stood like steadfast soldiers guarding the city from unwanted invaders. I crossed the bridge over the lake and turned onto the main street towards the center of town. The street was still brightly lit on either side since the volunteer workers had yet to take down the Easter decorations. Tinsel covered wire in the shapes of eggs, chicks and rabbits were attached on the light poles currently casting their glow on the street due to bad weather. Weather which usually stopped shortly after the beginning of May but now it was the 31st, oi . . . Probably the earth going through one of its cycles of strange weather shifts.

I turned onto Kennedy Parkway and drove up the large hill to get into my area of the subdivision. Well, it isn’t really a subdivision to be accurate. The houses, which ranged from one to two stories were and still are built right into the city but are all located above it in the cut out sides of the mountains. Mostly on the western side of the city to be exact. My home was located on the edge of Silverstream Drive, just about two city blocks away from the edge of the cliff side which looked down on the lake. My house faced the bay just enough so I could sit outside in the mornings on my second floor balcony and watch the ships go in and out of port.

The siding’s storm blue paint blended in with the slight misty fog the rain began to create as the evening temperature dropped but the asphalt retained its afternoon heat. Other houses in the area were painted bright colors; most here did not like to lose sight of their homes in a storm like this. I pulled up into my driveway and into the garage. I grabbed my things on the passenger seat and slipped them into the backpack I had so they wouldn’t get soaked.

Only upside to this dreary weather was that my car got a free washing. The downside was that my garage was not connected to my house in any way. Not that I minded now, I had remembered an umbrella this time. I slung my bag over my shoulder and opened the umbrella after closing the garage door. I had just started walking towards the front door when I noticed the vehicle for the first time. My eyes glued themselves onto the ambulance parked outside my house on the curb. I had seen ambulances before, but none like this. The paint was pure white except for the red markings of a cross and strip on its front and sides.

Ambulances, heck even the fire trucks around here were painted with this more lime than yellow shade of paint. Despite claims the paint helped people see the vehicles better in the dark, the paint didn’t do squat in this weather unless the lights were on. Some of my neighbors had petitioned for a new paint job, but no one at city hall wanted to listen.

I placed my backpack inside and went back out to inspect the vehicle. Running my fingers over its body, chrome, wheels and any other edge I could find for any signs of damage or missing parts. Thank goodness there weren’t any. Sometimes it seemed like this town had more problems with vandals than actual crazy criminals, not exactly a pleasing thought if one thinks about it. Not to say crazy criminals are better than vandals just around here the vandals were like roaches turned human, there were always more to cause precious items to go missing.

I went back into the garage, leaning my umbrella on the door. My hands connected with the back wall as I felt around my car. Reaching up to the back shelf my hands grabbed onto a large, black vinyl tarp which I took back out to the ambulance. Spreading the tarp over the vehicle wasn’t easy, but the last corner finally snapped into place. Now, not only would the vehicle be protected from the rain, it would also hopefully be guarded from any vandals patrolling the streets looking for an easy target to swipe with the storm cover, especially with that white paint saying “Hey over here!”

The rumbling sound of jet engines reached my ears as I finished. Rain slammed into my face as I looked up, covering my eyes with a hand. They sounded more like military jets than commercial ones. But flying in this weather? I didn’t think anyone was that crazy.

Shrugging it off, I double checked my handiwork, tying back the drawstring before picking up my umbrella and heading into the house. Leaving the umbrella in the wire stand I went upstairs to change out of my now soaked clothes and took a shower. I was sure to first take off the silver pendant which I inherited from my mother and wrapped it in a small towel; I didn’t want the rain water to ruin it.

My back rested against the cool tile even as the cascade of warm water soaked into my cold joints and muscles. Why was an ambulance parked outside in the open anyway? I’d never seen one come up this far, all were usually parked at the station or hospital. Though the vehicle could belong to some friends of one of my neighbors, but parked in front of my house? The fact was odd to say the least, unless there had been cars which I could not see on the other side of the street. My car’s lights had not reflected off any other bumpers or hubcaps though.

I shook my head, laughing softly that merely a small thing such as an ambulance was causing such curiosity. Exiting the shower I was in my pajamas and ready for sleep. I parted the curtains to watch the rain; drops rain in streams down the glass. I like the rain but even I was starting to get bored with it after the past two days of travel. It literally felt like six weeks but the radio had promised sun for tomorrow, one could only hope. I spotted the outline of the ambulance in the darkness sitting just where I’d left it. A smile graced my lips as I turned and went to bed, falling asleep almost instantly expecting everything to be peaceful.

I was dead wrong.

Sleep had just started to take over me when the sensations began again. Unknown to me, my pendant started to glow a faint cyan-blue and levitated a few inches off of my bedside table. The horrible sense of pure energy, for that is the only way I can describe it, began coursing through my body like liquid fire. A fire, strong and unpredictable as it trapped me within a world of hideous nightmares.

Shots ripped through me, abject the terror and pain I felt as I was pulled back deeper into the darkness of the dream. A strong sense of sadness and loss engulfed me and I felt myself being force . . . no . . . I was being ripped away from everything I had ever known and loved. Finally the ultimate blackness of oblivion when I felt myself torn from my body to take on another form. My mind echoing the pain of my two friends within me as the same thing happened to them.

My eyes fought through the blackness and came to rest on the face of a robot, glaring at me with sharp blue eyes, like sapphires, he nodded once to me, snapped his fingers and everything went black again.

_TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT_

The sleep visions which tormented me all night eventually subsided near dawn as sunlight crept into the room. This was not the first time these visions had appeared to me, first starting up around three months ago. Each one felt like some sort of lost memory from a previous life. Strange, I know, but for reasons unknown to me that explanation seemed to work far better than the hundred others I had come up with in the few days after the first dream.

I pulled myself from the latest nightmare, which was more vivid than the last. My body jerked as if I had suddenly taken a leap off a tall building and my eyes shot open into the bright sunlight shinning in my face. I should really get better curtains for the floor to ceiling windows which lead out to the balcony. My eyes closed automatically and I flipped over, cringing in pain. Turning onto my stomach my body tried once again to find some peace when knocking and the ringing of my doorbell reached my ears. Sound travels feely through my house, despite the insulation.

My stinging eyes cracked open to glance at the clock and found the digital red numbers reading nearly eleven o’clock. Tugging myself out of the mangles sheets, I threw on some socks, jeans with a jeweled American flag on the right front pocket, thanks to my youngest niece, and a plain white, v-neck t-shirt. I clasped my necklace, took a brush to my hair and ran downstairs to open the door before the person, who was so determinedly pounding on the darn thing, decided to finally grab something to tear it off its hinges.  
Opening the door, I found my two closest friends standing there grinning at me. My own smile eventually matching their own. They were both determined little things. I say little due to towering over them both with my 5’8” of height. Though I was surprised Jennifer was even here in the flesh, even after moving up here her father constantly tried to get her to move back home as he seemed to believe that Tara and I were a continuing bad influence on her mind.

Jen is the shortest of the three of us, standing at 5’4”. Her long, dark blonde hair was tied up off her neck, it usually hung down to her waist. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Tara on the other hand, was 5’6” in height with straight auburn hair, hanging down to her shoulders and eyes colored like a Hershey bar. What was strange, as my parents saw it, was even with the fact that Tara stood between both Jen and I in height and was the oldest, I was the one who stood as the mediator.

Tara and Jen, who is two weeks younger than me, always fought over just about everything. I glanced between the two of them as I leaned on the doorframe, ending my thought train.

“Hey you two, what’s up?” I yawned. “What are you doing up here anyway Jen? I thought your dad had decided to come up here and finally succeed in getting you back to Indy so T and I wouldn’t corrupt your little mind anymore? Guess he didn’t find the right rope.”

Both of them had lived in Indiana too. That was where we’d all met growing up back in Nova and their immediate family had decided to have a small get together with them while I was away.

Jen grinned as she pushed her bangs out of her face. “Hey it’s my life and can we not talk about my dad please? You’re my friends and I can do what I want. I’m twenty-four now, same as you and he can’t order me around. Besides I think my brother finally knocked some sense into him.”

I motioned for them to come in. The weather had turned a bit colder from the rain, with wind from last night still stirring the trees. Both of them dropped off their coats on the bench and went into the kitchen. As always, they were hungry, I swear both of them are bottomless pits in that department. Tara grabbed a bottle coke and Jen a root beer, each with a sandwich in their hands as they followed me into the living room. Tara stretched onto the L-shaped couch while Jen plopped onto the matching loveseat. I sighed and sat in my favorite recliner.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Both of them looked up at me. “What are you two doing here? I thought you were going to the Mall of America today down in Minneapolis? It’s all you two talked to me about while I was in Indy.”

Tara put her drink down. “First you were late getting back, we were waiting on you.”

“Blame my sisters for that.” I groaned.

“Second, haven’t you see what’s on the tube this morning?”

I shook my head. “No. You two woke me up with all your insane banging. Is it more on the war?”

Jen put down her glass and turned on the television, quickly flipping through the different channels before stopping on the local news station. My eyes glued themselves to the picture on the screen, my mouth nearly falling open. There was a familiar stretch of I-2 which I took to work in Fargo every other week. Not exactly right outside of town but it was close enough. The camera was far away but it could still make out some planes coming towards the city as well as a huge semi-truck with a black cab that had purple tinted windows. As the vehicles came closer to the camera, which I assumed was one of the new remote controlled ones some of the station employed, the three of us could see the violet symbol which us humans had come to fear.

The symbol of the Decepticons.

The camera pulled back again to show that these Decepticons were followed by another large group of vehicles with the red Autobot symbol. The Decepticons were heading towards the city with the Autobots in hot pursuit. The only question in my mind was, why?

“You see why we’re still here?” Tara stated. “Are you going to come with us out of the city or not? If those creeps are coming here than you know there is going to be trouble but exactly what no one seems to be able to figure out.”

My thoughts turned to the jet sounds I had heard the previous night. Had those been Decepticon scouts?

Jen leaned forward. “The mayor issued an order for everyone to get out of the city before they get here. So?”

I glanced between the two of them. Fear clearly noticeable in their eyes but also a bit of curiosity was present. I leaned back in the chair. “No. I’m going to stay here; you two can go if you want.”

I suppose any reasonable person would have just called me plain stupid or insane. But thankfully not either of these two. Jennifer and Tara started at me and then plopped themselves back onto the couches. A smile returned to my face as I looked back at them. They never did anything without me, and if I was staying to ride this out they would too. Talk about true friends when they stuck to you no matter what. They had been doing this ever since elementary school, but it still surprised me.

“Stay here until it get back. I need to check on something.” I ordered, throwing on a jean jacket.

“Don’t be too long!” both of them chorused in perfect sync like they had practiced it.

I laughed the last few steps while the door shut behind me. They, either by chance or purpose, spoke in sync a lot, more times than once making me believe they were twins in another life.

I went just a few steps down the walkway which led from my door to the driveway before I stepped onto something squishy. I looked down to find that under my foot was the black tarp I had covered the ambulance with last night, nicely folded with a small note attached to it.

The not read, _“Thank you for keeping m . . . my car that is, protected from the torrential rain last night. If I can ever repay you just call using the com . . . the phone attached to the tarp with this note.”_

Weird.

Was he stopping himself from saying something he was not supposed to on purpose? I shrugged and picked up the phone device. It was much smaller than my own cell phone, though surprisingly mine was one of the smallest models available compared to others in use. The metal was silver with gold symbols imprinted on it, which I didn’t recognize, along with the same red symbol the ambulance had on its hood on the back, surrounded by a black outline instead of white . . . wait . . . red symbol? My mind flashed back to the symbol not only on the ambulance but also just shown on the television as I looked between the phone and the tarp.

 _Oh my God!_ Mental head slap. _Boy do I feel stupid!_ I thought mentally smacking myself in the head again for not realizing the symbol’s meaning sooner.

I scanned the street looking around for the ambulance, but the road was only filled with sedans and Chevrolets pulled off to the sides. I turned to go back into the house when a large explosion went off. I whirled around to see a black mushroom cloud rise over the waterfront area of the city. Exactly in the area where the large gas tanks were located on the docks where workers refueled the outgoing ships. Jet engines screamed overhead as the Decepticon planes arrived, circling above and then headed back towards the now dissipating cloud. Dropping the tarp I ran to get my motorcycle to check it out when sirens blared and the ambulance sped past my house, becoming a blur of white and red which then disappeared around the corner not far from my house which led down the hill.

 _What in the . . .?_ I moved my hand down to the side holster my dad had designed for me on the bike. Two small leather bags, studded with silver spikes were draped over the back wheel. I felt into the ride side bag for my baby desert eagle II, a small compact 9mm my dad bought me on my birthday three years ago just in case. I wasn’t sure what good it would do but I returned my hand to the bar, revved the engine and sped after the ambulance. Okay so it was a crazy thing to do, but like most my curiosity got the better of me and I felt I had to do something.

Wind blew past as I flew down the road following the ambulance’s chosen path. The tires skidded when I slammed on the breaks, reaching the area where the explosion had sounded off only five minutes before. The jets screamed overhead again before coming down to earth. My bike levitated off the ground a few inches when something large and heavy landed. The ambulance shot past the front of the alley. I got off my bike, placing my helmet on the seat and I moved to the corner with gun in hand. I looked around the edge of the masonry building and I saw at least two grounded Decepticon planes.

They were moving large, glowing cubes from the factory which had been once supplied with diesel fuel for the ships. Now the torn electric and fuel lines were being placed into the cubes and filling them with pink liquid. One of the Cons was colored red and silver. He apparently was the decided leader as he shouted orders to the other Cons from above before landing. But from the way the other two, one silver and blue, the other black and purple acted as if they didn’t like him in charge with all their muttered grumbles. So either the red one was a stupid lackey who thought highly of himself or just a very annoying second in command.

The ambulance stopped, well skidded really, just a few feet away from them and transformed. He changed into a large white robot with a grey chevron on his forehead. The red ambulance cross symbol still visible on his shoulders. He pulled out some kind of weapon before shouting at the three transformed jets.

Annoying Red turned and shouted orders before he and his partners fired upon the Autobot. As I got closer I could hear the conversation when they shouted at each other. The laser fire slammed into the Autobot, knocking him backward into the building across from me. Bricks and glass showered down, the glass like sparkling but sharp confetti. Once more I saw the symbol on his chest as he tried to get up. He fell back down again when a large slab of concrete from the building’s damaged ceiling fell and slammed onto his head, breaking in half.

He sat in a slight daze, unaware of the Cons approaching him. Not sure why sadly I decided what I did next, but I was not going to just stand on the sidelines anymore. I glanced at my gun to make sure all ten of the rounds nestled perfectly in the compact frame were there and ready. Mentally kicking myself in the head, I swung around the corner I was hiding behind, aimed my gun at the red one’s eyes and shot twice. Two shattering rounds like glass or crunching metal followed shortly after as the slight echo from my weapon died down.

Short hairs on my neck rose when the shrieks of pain began. Almost like the Con had even more turned into a banshee. Ducking behind the corner again I tried to catch my own breath as he screamed, holding his face where both eyes had once been. Gun still in hand I scrambled to get behind a large green dumpster before one of the other two non-injured Cons noticed me. Curled on the ground with my back against the bricks I peeked around the edge as the feet of the blue and silver Con appeared, looking in the alley before shouting at the blind Con for nearly shooting his hand off. No doubt, even when blind, he was trying to find out where I was by making me run out of hiding. I raised my jacket collar to shield my face as the only success was found at least in blasting the far corner off the dumpster right above me.

The Autobot in the meantime, having recovered his vision to a degree, had risen up from where he’d been forced to lay on the ground. He had a surprised look on his face, from what I could tell, glancing around the dumpster again, as his eyes met the strange scene before him. Sounds of pounding feet told both of us the red and silver Con was still dancing around in pain. The Autobot shrugged and took advantage of the opportunity firing at the searching black and purple Con, blasting him in the center of his chest plate. He shouted something I couldn’t make out over the noise but the blue and silver Con grabbed the red one and blasted off into the sky, heading away from the city. The injured one took off after with some cubes bundled in his hands.

I watched the gun in the Autobot’s hand disappear as he moved to check the damaged area. I ducked when he glanced down the alley. My lungs released the breath I’d been holding as quietly as possible till, thankfully, he moved on. On shaky legs I jogged the long walk back to my bike and took off for the house, my mind still a whirl from the adrenaline rush. Pulling into my driveway a short time later, I nearly ran over Tara and Jen who had both run out of the house. Identically yelling and waving their arms like a pair of angry crows over a last piece of bread. Both demanded where I had disappeared to with all of the different explosions going off. Even with all the flapping about I managed to get my bike into the garage. I told them I had gone into town for some food but the purchase had gotten knocked out of my hands when the attack started and I had ducked into the store till the fighters dispersed.

The explanation seemed to calm down their ruffled feathers enough for me to shoo them back into the house before going back to the front door to get the tarp. I had dropped it in my rushed state to follow the Autobot, and did not want anyone tripping on it later. No matter how much Jen might enjoy watching Tara do so. When I picked it up I spotted the Autobot sitting on the curb again in front of my house, once more in vehicle mode. If I hadn’t known better I would have said he never left. I smiled slightly as I folded the top again, shifting it under one arm. I started towards the garage when he finally said something.

“Thank you.”

I turned and walked back towards him, stopping short on the sidewalk. “You’re welcome . . . I guess. But what exactly did I do?”

Even in vehicle form I felt he was smiling. A snort of the engine sounded, his version of a laugh in this form, causing him to shake a bit from side to side. “In one case you’ve saved my life twice now. Those seekers would have found me during their recon mission last night, if not for that tarp of yours. I don’t know what would have happened today with those three if you hadn’t followed.”

“How did you even know I was there?”

“My vision was blurred for a minute after falling into that building, but when it returned I saw you ducking back behind the dumpster.”

“Ah. Well it’s still no problem. You needed help, I always give that freely no matter the circumstances. Though I was beginning to wonder what exactly an ambulance was doing here last night. We don’t normally get someone like you around here.”

“No . . . I suppose you don’t.” he laughed again.

“You have a name?”

“It’s Ratchet. And you?”

I smiled. “My name is Alia Maxwell, but you can call me Angel. Everyone around here does.”

“Alright, Angel. I like the sound of that.” Ratchet replied. “I have something I want to ask you.”

“Shoot.” I said, tilting my head to one side.

“I would like to know if there is a place around here where I and possibly some of my comrades may stay once they arrive.”

My eyes widened, thinking of the news broadcast. “How many more of you are coming here and why?”

“No more than seven. As to why the reason is due to there being recent Decepticon activity around this area of the states, as you saw earlier. I was sent here as a recon agent to check it out. The others are coming to help me find out exactly what the Cons are looking for. Though . . .”

“What?”

“My commander gave orders to issue a report to him when he gets here. I’m not sure what to tell him . . . I wasn’t really supposed to make contact with any humans here.”  
I looked down at my feet. Great, what have I gotten myself into now? Then I said, “You can tell him what happened Ratchet, just leave out the parts where you had help and met me. I’m sure he won’t get angry if you don’t mention it in the first place.”

He thought about this for a few seconds before answering. “I suppose I could do that. Will not be the first time.” He murmured. If he had eyes at the moment they would have focused back on me. “So, do you know of a place?”

I nodded. “Yeah I do. Why don’t you meet me here in the morning and I’ll take you there. No one goes up on the higher hill anymore so you should have as much privacy as your group wants.”

“Thank you. I’ll meet you here tomorrow then.” he replied. Then he drove off down the road, honking his horn before disappearing around the corner. I waved at him, turned and went back towards the garage to put the tarp away and headed back into the house.

_TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT_

I woke up bright and early the next morning. For once I was well rested. The night visions had decided to leave me alone for a night finally. I wasn’t sure of the reason why the dreams were quiet but I just figured that I had finally grown out of them. I dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed a muffin and finished it in three bites before snatching a bottle of water. I took a drink and went outside to wash my motorcycle in the driveway before Ratchet arrived at the house.

Backing my bike into the driveway I balanced it on the kickstand and filled a bucket to the top with water and soap. I dropped a sponge into the bucket and grabbed the stool. Settling down next to my bike I sat and started to clean off the dirt and dust from the chrome and tires before the brick dust left permanent streaks. Using a toothbrush to clean the tighter spaces and under the flaps.

About an hour later I sat back in my lawn chair, admiring the newly cleaned and polished bike drying in the sun’s rays. My jacket hanging on the back of the chair with the bucket turned upside down as a footstool while the water drained. Ratchet pulled up at the end of the driveway as I finished the last of my water. Closing the lid, I grabbed my jacket, swinging it over my shoulders as I walked towards him.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” Ratchet replied. “Nice bike.”

I smiled. “Thanks. It’s a Harley, I’ve had it for a couple of years.”

“Really? Looks brand new to me.” He said.

I put my hands on my hips. “Are we going to talk about my bike all day? Or am I going to show you where the hiding place is?”

He laughed and opened the driver side door for me. I closed the distance and climbed in and he shut the door behind me. Ratchet drove to the end of the street towards the guardrail and turned right, making a U-turn and headed back down my street. I looked around the inside of Ratchet’s cab. I’d seen the inside of an ambulance before but that one was not so roomy. But I could understand with him being an Autobot and everything else. The controls were basically the same except that the steering wheel moved by itself. I was looking at the screen in the center of the dashboard, where medics would keep an eye on a patient’s vital signs, when Ratchet’s face appeared on it.

“I am going the right way correct?”

I nodded and leaned back in the seat. “Yeah, just take the right two streets down.”

Ratchet drove down the road, passing the hill which led to the center of town. During the winter we were allowed to ride the snowmobiles on set paths when the snow was deep enough. He came up on Hillshire road and turned right. The area at the top of the slope had once been home to several automobile factories at one time or another before I had moved here. But now the factories had sat abandoned for two years, the companies having moved somewhere else down south out of the cold weather.

Not that I blamed them when sometimes around here the temperature got to forty below zero. Cars then had to be plugged into special generators through the night in order to keep the engines from freezing. Unfortunately the factories had not done the same to protect their equipment. The factories had been built quickly and without proper insulation against the cold. Winds causing the heavy equipment to become brittle to the point of collapse, and several pieces had. The collapsing pieces caused tremors to travel under Duluth, scaring residents and throwing the city into near panic as this was not a very active fault region. Construction workers were called in to help dismantle the internal infrastructure. But they had left the actual buildings still standing to collect dust.

Ratchet stopped in front of the first factory just next to the hill’s crest. I had checked out this place before about a year ago, for one of Tara and Jen’s ‘exploration adventures’ at the time when they were still getting used to the city. We found the building to actually be stronger without all the inlaid parts of the walkways and equipment and this one particular building of the old factories was the largest. The whole structure was about eight stories tall to hold cranes which had once been on the different assembly lines.

The great thing about this particular area was due to this factory being the first in a very long row of structures which traveled along the street, no one paid any attention to them at all when people drove up here for one reason or another. All had been quiet for so long there was no reason to think anything could go on up here. At the end of the street was a cliff-side similar to the one by my house but this one looked over the mountains heading out to the west rather than Lake Superior. Most people, however, only came to search the abandoned buildings for extra pieces of concrete or parts which had been left behind to fix their cars or other machinery.

I exited Ratchet’s cab and slipped on my jacket as I walked over to the building’s four story garage door. I heard Ratchet transform behind me while I peeled back the door opener box to get at the old wiring within the panel. The green button easily slid back and I shut the panel while the door creaked and groaned while the unused gears slowly came to life and pulled the door open. Progress was agonizing but finally the door reached high enough for me to slip inside and wait for the rest of the metal to shift and let Ratchet in. some wind traveled inside and lifted the dust to blow across the floor. I pushed the opposing red button on an inside panel and the door began its slow trek back down but I stopped it high enough for Ratchet to drive out when we were finished.

Ratchet walked around inside the first room, checking out the completely open space save for a small stairway which led up to some offices which had been left intact in case the car manufacturers had decided to put a replacement factory here. Rumor was the city was going to tear down these structures and use the area for a new school or two but so far plans for them had fallen through the chain of command. Lucky us.

“I'll admit, I did not expect it to be so roomy in here.” Ratchet said finally.

I laughed. “Yeah, well, you could never tell when all the equipment was in here. Do you think it will work for all of you? The other buildings are a little smaller than this one.”

“What are those doors over there?” Ratchet asked. He pointed to a large door which went up all eight stories of the building.

“Oh those. Well there used to be multiple floors in this building but workers destroyed them when the plant moved out. All the concrete was taken down and the doors were left standing. Those slits in the door mark where the floors where when the full operation ran. Each individual set of doors can either be opened on its own or at the same time, thanks to some kind of pulley system. I think there is another room back there and maybe a third in the far back.” I explained.

He walked over to the tall door and pushed. All four sections of the door on both sides opened easily despite the obvious rust which covered the metal nuts and bolts. I followed Ratchet as he went into the other room but stayed put while he checked out the third. His voice drifted from the back room, pausing a few times before replying. He returned after a few minutes and gave the second room another once over, checking the reinforced concrete for any damage anyone may have missed before. Finding none he came back into the first room, making sure I was with him before he pulled the door shut.

“This will do very nicely for our needs. In the last room I can set up a temporary medical station while everyone else sets up base in the second room. While this one . . . well, not sure about this area yet but I’m sure we’ll find some use for it.”

I looked up at him. “Glad you approve Ratchet. The factory shells are ignored by anyone who passes by on the road itself down the hill. You will have to face the occasional sightseer who drives up, but other than that I don’t think anyone will investigate any strange new activity and find you. Just try not to make too much noise, and don’t leave the door open.” I paused and glanced up at him again. “When are your friends arriving anyway?”

He looked down. “I spoke to my leader, to let him know about this warehouse. He says they are not too far outside of town and should be here either tonight or sometime early tomorrow morning at the latest. Are you alright?”

A look of shock must have passed over my face. “T . . . tonight or tomorrow?! Jeez, you guys travel fast when you have to.”

Ratchet laughed. “When a situation concerns the Decepticons we have to move fast to protect all of you humans. Though . . . I do have to talk to you.”

I gave him a questioning look. “About what?”

He shook his head. “Not here. Get in and we’ll talk while I take you home.”

I stood in place for a minute. But, shrugging, I finally complied and climbed into the passenger side of the cab. Ratchet started to pull out of the abandoned factory and stopped long enough for me to press the button so the door would shut tight again. He then drove forward and turned to head back down the hill. We drove in silence for awhile. He was driving slower than before. I looked out the window and sighed, watching some passing seagulls. Whatever it was that he had to talk to me about apparently it was important. I jumped about two feet in the air when he started speaking again.

“Angel . . .” he started.

“Jeez!! Don’t do that, you scared me!” I exclaimed leaning farther back into the seat. I heard him chuckle under his breath and his face appeared on the monitor again.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “The thing is Angel, I’m not sure it is a good idea for everyone to know about you just yet. It’s not that we wouldn’t want your help or anything, it’s just . . .”

I nodded understandingly. “You just do not want the Decepticons to find out about me either and possibly hurt me while you are all here right?”

“Precisely. I especially do not want anything to happen to you. I’d never forgive myself if you were hurt. You saved my life, for which I am thankful, but you shouldn’t risk yourself like that again.” Ratchet said, concern adding an edge to his voice.

He pulled up to my house slowly. I swallowed a scream when a human popped up in the seat next to me. I noticed, after my heart left my throat, that he was sort of transparent like one of the simulator images they used in Star Trek to pass messages between ships. The human had short red hair with startling blue eyes and was dressed in a white t-shirt with dark blue jeans and a light blue jacket trimmed in white with his medic symbol on the right breast pocket, also outlined in white.

“Uh, Ratchet? What is that?” I asked, half tempted to poke it.

“It is a hologram. I activated it because your friends are standing in your driveway.”

I looked past him through the driver’s side window. Sure enough there were Tara and Jennifer both standing there and boy did they look mad about something. Yikes.  
Ratchet drove to the end of the street and turned around, pulling up in front of my driveway in the same spot. Tara and Jennifer stayed where they were as I slowly got out of Ratchet’s cab. My eyes went to the monitor then to the hologram as he nodded to me ‘I’ll see you when I can.’ He mouthed silently. I nodded back and shut the door when my feet left the pavement. The hologram image nodded to me again and then drove off.

I smiled and watched him drive down the road. Tara and Jennifer came to stand by me as he disappeared up the hill again. I knew Ratchet cared about me, even though we had technically met just yesterday. But I could get a sense of what he was not saying too. He and I both weren’t even positively sure that the other Autobots would accept me as a friend if that bridge ever came up. For them to find out about me would let Optimus Prime know Ratchet had gone against orders and made contact with a human. Even though the circumstances of the meeting couldn’t be helped, I did not really want to get him into trouble. Hopefully when I finally met the others they would understand.

But I never expected events to go as badly as they did.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey there! This is my first Transformers fan fiction! Hope you enjoy!

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters relating to Transformers. I only own my OCs that are in the story.

 _TTTTTTTTTTT_ change in the scene (if there is one)

 **Name:** change of the pov

‘ _Italics_ ’ telepathy, “ _italics_ ” talking on a phone/note reading, _italics_ thoughts

………………..

My two best friends and a few of the people on my street were starting to worry about me. What reasons I had given them to think so, I didn’t know. One might have been from everyone being on edge ever since the first Decepticon attack. Tara and Jen being the two who were sticking out the most by making sure to come over every day afterwards. Today they had come over to walk with me down the road to Mrs. Johnson’s house just three blocks down. She had asked us to help her work on the garden in the front. It was full of weeds and other plants like poison ivy or oak, I could never tell the difference.

I ignored the concern for the most part though Tara kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. She was only half listening to Jen telling her about something her mother had found on a recent trip to the Mall of America near where she worked in Minneapolis. Jen’s voice dripped with excitement about the new DVD or computer system which had come on the market while trying to create an air of normalcy in her conversation.

Tara was the one who usually worried about me no matter how many times I said I was fine. She never took my word for it. Suppose she never had with all the years I had known the two of them. Tara always panicked whenever my mood or something else around me changed, whether I consciously knew it or not. It was like her goal to make sure I was constantly alright whatever the situation; she was sort of like a guardian. Jen too, though she did not worry about me as often, leaving me to my own devices. I loved both of them dearly but they could tone down the overprotective factor, which had recently been adopted considering recent events, just a few notches.

As we walked down the sidewalk I stared off into space, wrapped in my own thoughts about what had being going on. It has been two weeks since I last talked to Ratchet. He had visited whenever he could since the day I showed him the warehouses. Either just to talk or more recently to have me show him more of the city as well as routes in and out in case the Con’s attacked in the surrounding area. He told me his friends had arrived in the city the next day after the warehouse trip and they approved greatly of the factory. Ratchet said they did not have much trouble making the warehouse their own, he had even found a small room behind his medical station which led outside. But there had been a Decepticon attack just outside the city again after that. He called me when they returned on the communicator which he gave me the day after I helped him hide from the planes, which I now believed was the Decepticon trine I saw the next day and I had not heard a word or seen him since.

I knew I should not have been, but I was worried about him. Hopefully nothing had happened to him if there had been yet another attack outside the city which we hadn’t heard about. The one where Ratchet had called me afterwards was all over the television then but related news had gone dark. Wherever I went, like now, I always had the communicator in my pocket with an ear pricked to catch the distinct tone of the ringer.

No such luck yet.

We arrived at the house. Mrs. Johnson was already outside waiting and directed us to where her other pairs of gardening gloves were sitting on the porch. We each grabbed a few of the new tools she had purchased down in the shopping center. Jen grabbed the weed killer spray and attacked the sidewalk and driveway. Tara grabbed the water hose to give the flowers we planted a drink, though now she seemed to get more water onto Jennifer than the thirsty plants. I was cleaning the tools I had in my hands from the second water spout when those two started a water war. Weed spray container long forgotten on the concrete sidewalk as water flew every which way. Tara was currently winning since Jen only had a swiftly grabbed watering can for a weapon.

I shook my head, taking off the gloves I had on and laid them down on the steps while I helped Mrs. Johnson to bring out the plates of food she had made for us as a thank you for helping. We arranged the plates on the top step just before the front door to keep the food out of the water. I grabbed myself a plate as she went back into the house for glasses and water.

I sat on the front step just below the food, eating a sandwich and dodging the water sprayed in my direction. Though a shout from inside the house said some had flown through one of the open windows. Placing my food down, I ran over to my friends and grabbed the hose out of Tara’s hands, turning it on her. Her clothes now thoroughly soaked before I turned the water supply off. Nodding at my handiwork before sitting back down on the step.

Jen clutched at her sides in laughter while Tara shook her arms and wrung out her shirt, glaring periodically at my innocent looking face behind my glass. Both of them finally came over and sat down on the walkway before all the food was gone. I finished my sandwich and grabbed the last one off the plate. My mind wandering as I half listened to the music coming from inside the house and half listening to the conversation Tara and Jen were having with Mrs. Johnson as she leaned out the window.

“Angel . . . hey Angel!”

I jumped, nearly losing my sandwich. “What?”

Tara smirked. “I think your boyfriend’s here.” She motioned over to the sidewalk.

I looked up to find Ratchet . . . well, Ratchet’s holo-form to be exact, standing there watching us. He smiled and motioned for me to come over. I smiled back and stood up, glaring at Tara and Jen as they tried to stifle their mixture of laughter and excited giggles into their water glasses.

“Hey. What’cha doing here?” I asked when I got closer.

He shrugged. “What? I can’t visit you like I promised?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m just surprised. Considering I have not heard from you in two weeks since one of the last attacks we heard about. How are you . . . doing this anyway?” I asked, looking up and down the holo-form.

“Huh, oh. The hologram can stay away from me for a good ninety minutes or so, solid too.” He explained, demonstrating by taking hold of my hand. “My friend Wheeljack. Designed the system so you would have to ask him for the technical details.”

“No thank you. I don’t think I would be able to follow that.” I glanced over my shoulder at my friends. Both of them now having decided to focus more on the birds than me. I had had guy friends in high school but no boyfriend. So any new guy I had apparently met they considered my boyfriend unless I hadn’t told them otherwise already. Not that I could really tell them the truth about Ratchet at the moment.

“So, what’s been going on?” I turned back.

He sighed. “I’m really sorry I haven’t been around lately. The Decepticons haven’t made any new attempts in this area yet but they have been attacking several other energy plants in the surrounding states. They haven’t turned their eyes back here yet but Prime things they will soon, so we’re going to be staying here for a while longer.”

“Been kept busy with all the battles huh?”

“Yes, especially since two of our number constantly want every injury known to common knowledge granted on them.”

I laughed. “Not the first time I take it.”

“Nope.”

“Anyway just let me know if there is anything I can help you guys with, alright?”

His hand gripped mine a little tighter. “Alright, but if the attack does happen again, don’t get into the middle of it like before. Keep your promise.”

“I will,” I replied. “But you better get back; I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

The serious gaze in his eyes softened. “Alright, just be careful.”

He let go of my hand and walked back across the street where I saw his actual body sitting at the corner. He opened the door to make it look like the hologram was getting since, closed it with a loud slam and drove off with the holo-form waving out the window. Tara and Jen were still smiling when I walked back, even as I shot them a look before sitting back down to finish eating.

“Sooo . . . who was that?” Jen giggled. She leaned forward eager to hear the details.

I smirked. “None of your business.” I said finally, taking a swig of water. Thankfully those two took it as a sign I was not going to tell them anymore and sat back to eat.

** Ratchet **

I drove back to the factory base, going in through the back door I had discovered which led straight into my temporary med bay. I hadn’t told Angel that I purposely snuck out of the base just to go see her. I didn’t think she needed to know, she was worried enough as it is with making sure I didn’t get into trouble with Optimus. Not to mention making sure her friends were safe if the Decepticons made another attack on the city. I transformed and quietly closed the door behind me. I went back to straightening my tools which I’d left lying out on the make-shift table Wheeljack contrasted for me. With the twins constantly getting scrapped up, my tools were nearly stained blue and purple from the energon.

**CRASH!!!!!!!**

_Now what?_ I mentally groaned, though I could hear the frustrated growl escaping my throat and headed out the door to inspect whatever damage had been done.

The door to the medbay was open alright, I was sure I had left it closed but apparently no one had noticed my disappearance. We had found in the second room another door when led to the empty warehouse next door. That place was also build of three rooms with the middle being the main headquarters area with the computer Wheeljack had designed and dubbed the ‘Traveling Teletran’ . . . don’t ask. The third room to the left of the headquarters area was the conference room.

Prowl came running out of the conference room with Jazz right behind him. Prowl glanced at me when I entered the headquarters. I shrugged and then headed over to the last room which was used for training.

Prowl stopped next to me in the door way. Sideswipe was lying on the floor with a thick slab of reinforced concrete on his back. Hound, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak and Cliffjumper each had grabbed a side of the slab and were attempting to lift it. Prowl and I entered and each grabbed a side of the slab. The solid mixture of rock and metal easily rose with our help and we maneuvered it against the wall. Sunstreaker helped his brother up, checking to make sure he wasn’t damaged or anything. Good thing that he wasn’t. I really was in NO mood to start doing repairs on him again after his bucking-bronco routine with the Decepticon Trine.

“What happened Sideswipe?” Prowl asked.

The red twin shrugged. “I’m not sure. We were trying out a new move when Sunstreaker threw me into the wall and the next think I know that stupid slab had fallen on my back. I didn’t know humans could make something that heavy.”

Jazz went over to the wall, checking to see if anymore slabs of the inner wall were going to come loose. “That looks like the only one Prowl. I don’t think we’ll have trouble with any others.”

I sighed. Angel had not told me of the possibility of some slabs from the old warehouses being loose, but then again she had only shown me the one warehouse where my medbay was.

“Well at least you’re not damaged.” I growled. 

Sideswipe had the grace to look sheepish as I turned and headed back to the medbay. I passed Wheeljack and Prime on my way; I nodded to them both and turned the corner. Prowl’s voice drifted after me as he explained to Prime what had happened. These warehouses were built really strong which was surprising since Angel had told me it had been about six years since anyone or anything had occupied the space.

Picking up some tools which had fallen off the table in my rush, I started putting them away again. I was so absorbed in the work that I didn’t hear the approaching footsteps behind me.

“Ratch?”

I jumped, turning towards the voice. “Wheeljack. Sorry I didn’t hear you come in.”

He came forward placing a hand on my shoulder. “You okay? I didn’t see you in the medbay earlier. Where did you go?”

_Slag._

I glanced at him, having turned back to the table. “I’m alright, I just needed some air. After what Sideswipe pulled earlier in the fight . . .” I trailed off, praying to Primus he bought that.

He sighed. “I understand. But there seems to be something else bothering you.”

I turned and saw concern wavering in his eyes. “I’m fine ‘Jack; trust me I would tell you if I wasn’t.”

“This is me you’re talking to remember?” he huffed. “I know you and you are hardly ever this quiet, even after fixing Sideswipe. What’s going on?”

“I . . .”

“Ratchet, do you have those reports for me?” Prowl asked, entering the room.

Grateful for the excuse I went over to the small desk Wheeljack and I shared, brushing aside some stray pieces for inventions to find the datapads.

“Here.” I handed them over.

Prowl took them, flipping through a few pages. “All in order.” He paused and looked up at me. “You alright?”

I felt my hand twitch, wishing I had a wrench in my hand and also grateful I didn’t. “Why is everyone so inquisitive today? I’m fine, there is nothing wrong with me.”

He gave me an uncertain look. “You know Ratchet you’ve never been a very good . . .”

“Hey Prowl?” a voice called.

The three of us turned as Bumblebee approached from the other room. To my eyes Prowl visibly relaxed when he saw him. He had expected Prime or Jazz coming to get him to go back to the conference room for discussions about where the Cons may strike next. Usually my friend didn’t visibly let anyone see him so at ease. But there were times, like now, that it just did not matter to him. Bumblebee had asked to come along on this mission instead of staying back at the Ark. He nodded to me and Wheeljack, giving us a quick smile and turned back to Prowl.

“Spike and Carly want to know if we can go into the city and look around. Is that alright?”

“I don’t think . . .” Prowl started.

I interrupted him. “Oh come on Prowl. Let them go and explore. The last time we were able to see another city was when we were in New York and Megatron didn’t really allow anyone time before he started changing buildings in New Cybertron. Besides I would think Bumblebee would bring Spike and Carly back here if the Cons showed up.”

Prowl mock glared at me even though he was smiling. He knew I was right. “Okay,” he said to Bee. “But be careful out there.”

Bumblebee nodded eagerly and ran out the door.

Prowl turned back to me. Wheeljack busying himself with the nick knacks on his desk. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“What?” I asked innocently. He swatted me lightly on the arm.

“You know, persuading me to let them go despite the apparent dangers. The Cons could be headed back here even now . . .”

“Now, now, calm down. We’re close enough to reach them if those rust buckets who their ugly faces. Don’t worry.”

** Angel **

Tara, Jen and I finished at Mrs. Johnson’s soon after lunch and we decided to head into town after that. We drove down along the hill in my Ford towards the small shopping center at the base. The two of them practically danced around me in circles from their seats, continuously asking and demanding information about Ratchet. But I kept quiet. I knew this would annoy them both beyond all reason, but I do believe I am allowed to have some secrets from the two of them. I parked my car parallel to the sidewalk and behind this adorable little yellow VW bug.

We walked into the mini-mart first to purchase a few items for me at home. Jen and Tara complained but I told them if they were going to continue and insist on coming over and eat my food then they had to help me get the essential supplies for the house.

Tara immediately ran down the chips aisle and Jen headed towards the drinks. The mart itself was crowded, made more so from the squished aisles stuffed to the brim and long coolers sitting in the center of the back hallway. I headed down to where the fruits and milk were, filling up a small basket with apples, strawberries, oranges and some white 2% and chocolate milk. I walked down the back aisle which was filled with meats and vegetables along with cheese and bread.

I turned towards some noise, seeing Tara and Jen had found each other and were running along the ends of the aisles. They couldn’t cross to my side due to the long center freezers with turkey, chicken and frozen dinners. The only opening was in front of me. I watched them, then looked to where they were heading, both of them had their eyes on me. I saw a blonde haired girl about my age walking next to a brown haired back coming down the same way towards my two friends.

“Watch . . .” I started. Too late.

**CRAAASHHHH!!!!!!!**

All four of them fell onto the floor. Thankfully everything which both parties had been carrying was still unopened otherwise there would have been more of a mess. I put down the chop meat I had been looking at and ran over to them.

“Are you all alright?” I asked, starting to pick up things along with Jen who had recovered from the shock quicker than the others. The blonde girl shook her head and then leaned forward to help. Her brown haired companion started to do the same thing, all the while shooting daggers at Tara and Jen.

“You two alright?” I asked again. The girl turned to me.

“Yes. We’re fine.” She replied.

“No we’re not,” the man growled. “You two should watch where you’re going!”

Tara and Jen at that time had the right mind to look embarrassed and ashamed.

“Sorry.” Tara said. “We were just in a hurry.”

“Yeah a little too much of a hurry.” He hissed.

The girl placed a hand on his shoulder. “Now really Spike. It was just an honest accident.”

I smiled a bit then helped her to her feet. The boy followed suit with their groceries while Tara and Jen picked up theirs’ . . . well ours’. I handed the girl a few of her items that I had picked up.

“Oh, thank you.”

“You two new to town? I haven’t seen you around before.” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes we are actually. My name’s Carly and the grouch over here is Spike.” She held out her hand.

“I’m Angel and the two runners here are my best friends Tara and Jennifer.” I answered shaking her hand then pointing to each one in turn. All of us then walked down the nearest aisle to get to the checkout counters.

“You two here visiting with friends?” Tara inquired.

Carly nodded. “Yep. We’re here for just a little while to see the sights, then go back home.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when we found the checkout lines were small. Usually around this time of day on the weekend the store was packed. But then again it was not a game weekend or anything special. Tara and Jen pitched in for the groceries. Each of us grabbed a few bags then walked with Carly and Spike to the cars. They went to the VW bug while the three of us loaded the bags into the trunk of my car. Tara slammed the door shut. We were all just about to part ways when the explosion hit.

This one was a lot stronger than the last one the day I met Ratchet. The ground actually shook like an earthquake rippled beneath, knocking Tara off her feet and sending me and Jen grabbing onto the car for support. I looked to my right to see Carly and Spike grabbing onto the bug as some planes flew overhead. I gazed up at them and froze. Their coloring was the same as the ones who attacked Ratchet but with full repairs and rapt attention on their target. The Decepticons had come back just like Ratchet said. Tara got up and brushed the gravel and dirt off her jacket and pants.

“What the heck was hit?!” she yelled a bit hysterical. Not that I blamed her. I would be too if this hadn’t happened to me before. I saw smoke rising up, being blown in the wind to the north.

“I think it came from the power plant at the harbor!” I replied.

Spike whirled to face me. “How do you know that?!”

“Well uh . . .,” I trailed off. I couldn’t tell him about before. “For one, clueless, I live here! The plant is in that general direction if you go down to the end of the street and turn right. The smoke is being blown from that way!”

Carly said something to Spike which I couldn’t hear as another explosion hit. This one throwing all of us into the air and the cars levitated a few inches. Jen screamed holding onto the car for dear life.

 _One of the reserve gas tanks must have exploded!_ I thought. That thought even horrified me more. The power plant was next to the ship fuel refinery with those six large reserve gas filled tanks . . . oh I didn’t want to think about it.

I hear sirens blaring in the distance. Though I couldn’t tell if it belonged to a fire truck or ambulance. Wait, what if it was . . .

“DUCK!!” Spike yelled at the three of us.

We did as we were told. Tara and Jen were huddled together next to me. I looked up to see a big red, white and black bird with purple Decepticon symbols on its wings flying around above us. Mostly circling over Spike and Carly. Then the yellow VW transformed. Okay, I have to be honest, I was shocked. I hadn’t seen another Transformer before Ratchet.

“Go away Laserbeak! You birdbrain go away!” the Autobot yelled. He fired at the bird as it flew up and down like an airborne bouncing tennis ball. The bird fired its own laser back. Carly and Spike ducked behind the Autobot then ran over to where my friends and I were crouching behind my car.

A crash sounded behind us.

Spike, Carly and I whirled around to find another Decepticon standing there. He was about human height, colored a silver-gray with white markings on its chest. The arms shifted and changed into pile drivers and slammed into the ground. From the pile drivers came two large cracks, meeting in front of the Decepticon while they split the earth in half and right through the concrete. Spike grabbed Tara and Jen while Carly grabbed onto my arm and dragged us at a run to the other side of the street.

The small Con started towards us, his arms now back to normal when a white and black sports car literally ran him over. The car slammed on its brakes, turned sharply with a tire squeal and transformed knocking the small Con back on the ground when he started to get back up.

“Jazz!” Spike yelled.

The second Autobot looked over at us. “Get out of here Spike, all of you. RUN!”

Well one did not have to tell the five of us twice. We sprinted up the sidewalk leading towards my house up the hill. I glanced back behind me at Carly and Spike; both of them were having trouble catching up to me, Tara and Jen. I hadn’t even noticed that we had gotten ahead of them. I ran back and held onto Carly’s arm while Tara grabbed Spike’s and we helped them run up the steep incline. We stopped around the corner in the front yard of the first house next to the hill to catch our breath. I glanced back down the hill at the two Autobots now tangling with the silver Con and another one which looked like a panther. My eyes darted the sky above their heads for the bird but it was nowhere to be found. The whine of thrusters sounded overhead and I saw that the bird, Laserbeak, was charging towards us.

“Watch it!” I yelled and darted back. I grabbed Carly around the stomach and dodged the bird’s swooping attack by throwing us both on the ground. Fresh earth and grass filled my nose. Tara, Jen and Spike followed my example and ducked out of the bird’s way too. Laserbeak lifted back up into the air and spun around to face us.

“What is he doing?” I asked Carly.

“Watching us. Do you know of anywhere to run?” she whispered.

“There is a small shelter up the road here. It was build when there was a fear of possible bombings in World War II. Some people here still use it because of the Decepticons.”

She nodded. “Okay on three. Ready?” she asked. We all nodded.

“Okay one . . . two . . . THREE!” she shouted. All of us shot up from the ground and crazily ran towards the bird, ducking him as he made another pass and sprinted towards the direction of the shelter. As we neared my house Tara and Jen made a mad dash for the front door.

“Are you crazy? Don’t separate!” I yelled, following after to get them back on the right path.

“Angel! Watch out!” Spike shouted.

I looked back over my shoulder at Spike but did not get a chance to answer him. I suddenly felt me arms being lifted from just below my shoulders in a sort of vice grip but still loose enough for me to move my arms. Then my right foot scrapped against the pavement as the creature lifted me off the ground until I was about twenty feet in the air.

I screamed.

I heard Tara yell, “Angel!” I twisted my head as best I could from underneath Laserbeak. Spike was the first in line running after me with Carly and my two friends not far behind him. I struggled in Laserbeak’s grip and he flew out towards the lake. I turned my head the other way and could see the power plant with the Autobot and Decepticon planes were locked in a giant dogfight.

A bright blue laser flew past me from the ground. I could hear someone with a slight Cajun accent yelling. “Let her go Laserbeak!”

The bird blatantly ignored him, flying out further still until we were a good quarter of a mile, or four hundred meters, away from the cliff side and beach which was just below that Tara and Jen had shown me on our first trip to Duluth before we moved up here. I looked in front of me. Two large, blurred shapes slowly cleared as they came closer towards Laserbeak. One of them was dark blue with a visor over his eyes and some kind of cannon on one shoulder with a gold and black colored version of Laserbeak flying beside him. The other was silver with the biggest cannon I had ever seen on his right arm. I could see the violet symbol on each of their chests. _Oh god, I’ve got to get out of here_ , I thought.

I started to struggle again. Bringing my legs up to try and swing back and forth, as I did I could feel my arms start to slip out of my jacket sleeves. Apparently Laserbeak didn’t have as tight a grip on me as he thought. My jacket was old; it had been something my mom had gotten from Goodwill a few years back when she wanted to get me a cheap coat. I looked down and saw the top of the lake water about forty feet below me.

Laserbeak had by this time stopped flying and was now hovering in one place. _Okay_ , I thought, _two choices . . . one, get captured by the Decepticons or two, try and slip my arms out of the jacket and plummet into the icy cold water below me._

I chose the icy cold water. I shifted a bit in the jacket and felt my arms begin to slip again. Fighting against Laserbeak’s now tightening feet, I tilted my arms up.

I dropped.

Wind rushed past me while I plummeted towards the water. My arms flailed slightly, spinning in small circles. Like that would help me. I took a deep breath and then felt my body slam into the water.

** Tara **

I ran next to Spike and Carly while we chased Laserbeak as far as we could. My heart was pounding in my ears from fright and surprise when I watched Angel get carried away. We stopped at the guard rail that stood at the top of the cliff side. Jennifer stopped beside me, catching her breath and watching Angel with the same fear that I felt. I heard pounding footsteps behind me and then saw a laser fly towards where Angel was. It missed. I looked up to see the one Autobot, Jazz, yell. “Let her go Laserbeak!”

I glared at him. “Hey watch where you’re aiming! You almost hit my friend!”

He looked down at me. “Sorry miss, I thought that would have scared the birdbrain enough to let your friend go.” He stated.

I smiled nervously. “Sorry, I know. I’m just scared.”

He nodded in understanding as I turned back to watch. I could see Angel struggling against the Con’s grip but she stopped almost as soon as she started. I looked past her to see something in the distance approaching. I could hear a soft “oh no” come from the Autobot, Bumblebee as he saw the same thing. I couldn’t tell what exactly, but it didn’t sound good.

“What is she doing?” Jen gasped.

I quickly looked back up at Angel and could see that she was hanging slightly lower in Laserbeak’s grip than before. But then my heart flew into my mouth when I saw her suddenly drop away from her captor and land in the water. Still quite a way from shore.

** Angel **

The water felt like a thousand needles were being plunged into my skin at once as the water closed over my head. I floated underwater for a minute and then turned towards the shore and started swimming. My clothes felt like ten pound weights on me as they were now completely soaked through. My feet just felt like dead weight as I kicked the water with as much force as I could. When I couldn’t bear the feeling of raging dragon fire in my lungs I cautiously went to the surface, lifting my eyes out first to make sure it was safe.

I spotted the blue Decepticon looking back and forth over the surface of the water. Ripples dotted the surface from the wind making it hard to discern which were nature or human made. He wasn’t looking in my direction so I quickly took another deep breath of air and plunged back beneath the surface, swimming now as fast as I could towards the beach. I heard a yell of fury and rage up above me, which was magnified by the water in my ears. The one Autobot who had shouted at Laserbeak must have shot and hit one of the Decepticons. I rose to the surface and took one last breath. When the water cleared from my eyes I could see the beach wasn’t too much further so I could probably swim the rest in one breath.

I saw movement not far from me. Panic shot through my system and I turned in the water thinking it was Laserbeak but it was only a fish. I sighed inwardly and continued swimming. A shadow then flew over me, a big one. I went a little deeper into the water. The shadow went a little farther over the water’s surface but then turned and flew back the other way at a fast speed. I reached out a hand to feel in front of me and touched the smooth rock of the cliff beneath the beach. You see the cliff side did a little zigzag pattern going down, making the flat beach and then dropping again into the depths of the lake.

Pushing my feet against the rock I flew up to the surface, breaking the water line gasping for fresh air. I shook my head to get the water out of my ears and then swam the little space left to the beach. I tried to climb out of the water but my arms were too numb to let me, they shook uncontrollably every time I tried.

“Angel!” I heard two voices shout above me.

I looked up and saw Tara and Jennifer looking down from the cliff top down at me. Tara held up her hand with a ‘stay there’ motion. Then she and Jen ran away from the others towards the stairs which led down to the beach. Tara flung open the gate and literally flew down the stairs, not that Jen was much better. They ran from the base of the stairs over to me and helped pulled me out of the water. Tara then gripped me tightly around the shoulders, while Jen latched onto my waist as I sat in the sand.

“Thank goodness!” Tara gasped; she was still trying to catch her breath. “You’re alright!”

Jen didn’t say anything to me to express her relief, she just tightened her grip on me.

I looked at them both. “Yes I’m fine. Now could you two please help me up? I’d like to get back to my house.”

Both of them pulled back a little. They seemed shocked by the suggestion at first and looked at each other in one of their silent conversations. Apparently they both decided it would be better for me to rest at the house than to stay out in the open. They each grabbed an arm and slowly walked with me towards and up the stairs.

** Jazz **

I watched the two girls carefully help their friend to get up the stairs and back onto street level. All of us on the cliff side had frozen in place when we saw her drop away from Laserbeak’s grip. I looked down at Spike and Carly. Carly was holding onto the rail, her shoulders slumped forward at the relief she felt. Spike just had a hand on her shoulder but I could tell by his face he was just as relieved. I turned around when I heard someone approaching. Optimus, Prowl and Ratchet drove towards us and transformed.

“Jazz, what happened?” Prime asked.

** Angel **

Carly and Spike came over to us when we finally reached the top of the stairs. I leaned over and placed a hand on the rail, determined to get the feeling back in my legs, grateful the water had not broken anything when I slammed into it. I looked towards where Jazz and Bumblebee had been standing having joined my new friends, Carly and Spike, shortly after Laserbeak had taken off with me. Now standing with them were three others.

One I recognized immediately as Ratchet. One of the others was white and black in color like Jazz but he had door wings coming out of his back. The last one who towered over the rest of them was colored deep red, with silver at his waist and blue on his feet. His chest had two glass panels on it like the front of a semi cab. I shivered, this was Optimus Prime. I had seen what he looked like before from pictures on the net and the television but this was so much better than any picture.

“You sure you’re alright?” Carly asked. “You gave us all quite a scare.”

I smiled at her. “Yeah, sorry about that. But how else was I going to escape?”

She shrugged. “We would have found a way. Come on.”

She motioned for us to follow her, which we did. As we got closer I could hear Jazz finishing his explanation to the three newcomers, about what had happened to us since the beginning of the battle. I had to lean against Tara again a bit for my legs felt like they were going to give out. I looked up to see Ratchet and saw that he was watching me. Thankfully he was standing behind Prime so he didn’t see Ratchet nod to me. His eyes were filled with concern having just heard all about my ordeal. I nodded to him and mouthed, ‘I’m alright, don’t worry’. He nodded again but there was still some disbelief in his eyes.

“The question now though is. Did Laserbeak mistake her for Carly or did he grab her on purpose?” I heard Optimus ask out loud for everyone to hear.

I looked back at the others as the second black and white answered. “No way to know for sure right now Prime. The one good thing is that the Decepticons didn’t get the plant’s energy.”

The last thing I heard of that conversation, as Tara and Jen led me away back to my house, was the answer to the inquiry.

“True Prowl. But this situation raises even more questions about what just occurred here.” Optimus replied gravely.

 

 **Author’s Note:** Sorry about no note on the last chapter! Well chapter two is done! Yippee!! Thank you for reading! Please Read  &Review, I am open to anything you have to say.


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